The present invention is directed to a stabilizing device which is adapted to be inserted between a support surface and the lower support structure of an article of furniture in order to help support and stabilize the article of furniture against instability that is caused by an uneven structural support of the article. This instability manifests as tipping or wobbling under perturbations to the distribution of the weight on the article, jarring forces and the like. The stabilizing device thus may also be used to help level an otherwise evenly supported article on a support surface. Accordingly, the field of the present invention is directed to the levelling and stabilizing of articles of furniture and the like which rest on a support surface such as a floor in order to prevent wobbling or tipping during use.
Most articles of furniture are constructed to have a lower support structure which defines a support plane at its lowermost points. The operative or working areas of the article of furniture is then oriented in a desired manner with respect to that support plane by the support structure. For example, a typical table has a horizontal dining surface which is oriented parallel to the floor and which is supported by four downwardly depending legs. Thus, the support plane of this table is the plane defined by the free ends of the legs. However, planar geometry dictates that only three operative support points define a plane. Thus, it is necessary that the table legs be sized with great care in order to ensure that all four free ends terminate in a common plane; otherwise, the table will have instability.
Most articles of furniture are usually supported by lower support members which indeed have a number of potential support points in excess of three. These include, by way of example, articles of furniture, such as the table, above, which have four or more downwardly depending legs, articles which have horizontal runners adapted to abut the support surface and pedestal supported articles. Unless special care is taken, it is often possible that the lower support structure of these articles does not terminate in a common support plane. When this happens, the article of furniture does not have a single stable support plane but rather is subject to unwanted wobbling or tipping. Even such articles of furniture which have only three support points, such as a three legged table, that automatically define a stable support plane, it still occurs that the working surface may not be in a desired orientation due to any error in the intended length of any support.
Accordingly, there has been a long-felt need for mechanical structures and devices which can level or otherwise stabilize articles of furniture. To this end, some articles of furniture are provided with adjustable pads on their lower supports with these pads typically being threaded bolts which terminate in support pads or heads. These threaded bolts move into and out of the lower supports to define an adjustable support plane. Thus, the support pads may be threadably adjusted so that all of the common support points are in a common plane. Other techniques of levelling items such as heavy machinery include the use of a pair of freely sliding wedges which are innerconnected by means of a threaded shaft; a torque applying assembly interconnects the wedges so that they may be forceably slid with respect to one another to provide vertically adjustable supports for the machine.
Despite the existence of different levelling structures, it is still a common experience for a person to find an article of furniture, such as a table and the like, which is either not level or is not stabilized. Such inconvenient event happens commonly in restaurants, taverns and other places of social gathering. One possible reason for this inconvenience includes the fact that the majority of articles of furniture do not include any adjustable stabling structure whatsoever despite the fact of the known use of adjustable pads; this omission is possibly due to the increased cost. Even where levelling structures are present on the article of furniture they may be out of adjustment or may have been damaged through intense use. Sometimes the integrity of the support structure has, itself, been compromised through use. Hence, many persons at one time or another have found themselves utilizing an article of furniture which is unstable or is otherwise off level. This situation can jeopardize the use of the article and, indeed, the persons situated therearound, since the food items, drinks and the like can become spilled or otherwise compromised during use of the article. Further, the wobbling of a table is often very annoying for people sitting therearound since each time a person contacts the table, the table may shift.
In order to help stabilize tables and other articles of furniture, then, it is a common practice for persons in restaurants and taverns to try to use napkins, matchbook covers, coins and other devices in a vain attempt to stabilize a table or other furniture article. Accordingly, there is a need on the part of business proprietors for a simple and inexpensive device which can be used to level tables or other furniture articles in their establishments, and a need for a simple, inexpensive portable device which a person may conveniently carry in his/her pocket in order to stabilize a table. These needs for such a simple and inexpensive stabilizing device are solved by the present invention.